Meet the Pandavas and the Kauravas – two royal families fighting for control of the kingdom their grandfather once ruled. It’s a tale as old as Homer’s Odyssey or as recent as TV’s Succession.

Led by an international South Asian cast, Mahabharata is classic story shared in Indian households around the world. It blends the traditional and the contemporary to take you on a journey featuring gods, the supernatural and the urge to seek bloody vengeance. It’s all brought to life by a hypnotic live soundtrack of classical Indian music and dance, woven together by the ultimate storyteller.

Mahabharata is a visually stunning spectacle performed in two parts. In Part I: Karma see the stories of humans struggling to build a just world in the face of competition, jealousy and rage told through playful narration, classical Indian dance and a live band. In Part II: Dharma captivating projections, dynamic digital soundscapes and poetic stage design tell the story of the devastating battle that nearly destroyed the world and asks are we destined to repeat the mistakes of our ancestors?

See Mahabharata as two separate shows or, for the ultimate experience, one complete event with an optional traditional Indian feast and storytelling session (Saturday and Sunday performance bundles only).

PART I: KARMA
King Janamejaya is holding a ritual sacrifice in which he will kill all the snakes in the world to avenge his father’s death. In hopes of ending this cycle of revenge, a storyteller is summoned to tell King Janamejaya the tale of The Mahabharata. The storyteller tells of the rival Pandava and Kaurava clans, and the choices that lead to their infamous Game of Dice. Through playful narration, shadow play, classical Indian dance and a live band, the ensemble tells the stories of humans struggling to build a just world in the face of competition, jealousy, and rage. 

Exploring the themes of storytelling, ecocide, and dharma (empathy), Part 1 begins Mahabharata’s epic journey that asks, “When everyone believes they are right and their opponents wrong, how can one end a spiral of revenge?” 

PART II: DHARMA
King Janamejaya is told of the war fought by his ancestors – its devastating destruction of the planet, the mass extinction that followed, and of the survivors left behind to rebuild. Using captivating projections, dynamic soundscapes, and poetic stage design, Part 2: Dharma includes a 15-minute Sanskrit opera adaptation of the Bhagavad Gita. King Janamejaya is confronted with the battle of Kurukshetra, and the battle inside his own heart. Are we destined to repeat the mistakes of our ancestors?